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I'm not entirely sure the far-reaching implications of not drinking beer has fully resonated with me yet. I mean, there's the obvious ones, 2000 calories a day and $400 a month saved - awesome deficits to have to be sure. But I was an otherwise very responsible drinker, always drinking around my children's schedule; picking them up, dropping them off, and ferrying them here and there. So the most obvious question staring me back in the face was, "What do I do now?"
I had a lot of time to fill that I would normally fill drinking, and since drinking doesn't lend itself to coexisting with many activities, I was in a bit of a slump. When drinking this past year - because I don't watch much television - I would often throw darts in the garage or play video games, both of which seemed rather dull without the brightness turned all the way up. So, I started working out. Cardio and weights every day for a month. I just added yoga.
So I am consuming far fewer calories, saving a shitload of cash, and working out because I have a lot of time I don't know how to spend. There's one more thing - gout. The effects of excessive drinking are finally beginning to subside. But its not all rainbows and unicorns. There's a dark side to not drinking. My social life has tanked. No more get-togethers with the neighbors and no more seeing my favorite beer store girl. I'm also not sleeping as well, and this one has been the most notable. Beer is such a soothing elixir, that without causes me to toss and turn and lay awake most nights.
The silver lining to being a social pariah who cannot sleep is all the extra time spent meeting and playing with new females, and that's an activity I can really get behind.
Welcome to 2015.
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After the long days of the past two weeks, I decided to get back to some active recreation - throwing darts and drinking beer in the garage. I invited my neighbor, who showed up with a mutual acquaintance, and we got started in earnest. As we were the most active corner in the neighborhood after nightfall, people started coming and going and we were at about 10 people at one point, all throwing darts, drinking craft beers, and listening to music - mostly 80s metal.
And after two full weeks of non-drinking, I made up for it in volume. I'd picked up a 12-pack Goose Island sampler, the 12-pack Shiner Family Reunion, and a 12-pack Best of Belgium (Hoegaarden, Stella, and Leffe). The neighbor brought three six packs, one of which I'd not had before, the delightfully rich and smooth New Belgium Abbey Dubbel.
The next day I ground into powder the fresh basil
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suzanne1945 had brought me several months ago I was drying for my son's request of basil-infused olive oil, then made a salsa out of her cherry tomatoes and jalapenos for a bonfire beer-drinking party I attended Saturday night; my daughters friend's mom had brought me a jar of homemade salsa several weeks back during one of our first cool-weather beer & darts events, and as they are hosting the bonfire tonight, I'm returning her jar with my own :)But just in case we drank down too much of the cooler, I augmented it with a beer the beautiful and engaging local wench couldn't stop talking about, Lagunitas. I picked up one six of each; an IPA, a Fractional (whatever that means) IPA, and a Pale Wheat Ale.
Then played GT5 on and off all day Sunday, as I wanted to be anywhere but my office.
Loaded up and truckin' just watch ol' Bandit run!
During my May foray into Texas, I brought back only the essentials. Specifically, four cases of Shiner White Wing. I was growing weary of the local Kansas liquor stores running dry; a lesson I'll think about repeating again when its once again time for Holiday Cheer.
As I am surrounded by Texans in this bedroom Mennonite town, I did share my haul.
Happy 4th of July, ya'll!
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I am forever known as the neighborhood "Beer Fairy" to this day after rolling around a wheeled cooler filled with beer passing them out last 4th of July and again the following Halloween. Then there was this guy who delivered a 12-pack of Lone Star last Thanksgiving.
While I was in the garage working on the Dyson and drinking The Best Beer in the United States of America, my neighbors across the street came home. I excitedly hailed them and handed each of them a Shiner White Wing. I explained, "I have been around the world, drinking the best beers each country has had to offer. The U.S. has always paled in comparison. Until now. Shiner White Wing is the best American beer I have ever had." They cracked them open right there in the driveway and upended them, and just like the video from "Beerfest" their faces lit up as a supernatural light from heaven illuminated their weeping faces.
Then, two days later, as I was leaving the house to drop off a Shiner White Wing to another neighbor, I find a box of twenty beers on my porch, and my neighbor from across the street explaining, "We went to our friends house and I told him about the beer you brought over, and he had to get rid of a whole lot of beer from his last party, so I split them with you."
I hugged him.
7x Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy
2x Leinenkugel's Snowdrift Vanilla Porter
3x Budweiser Black Crown
2x Boulevard Pale Ale
2x Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat
1x Samual Adams Chocolate Bock
1x Samual Adams Blueberry Hill Lager
1x Samual Adams Little White Rye
1x Abita Turbodog
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Adjuma came into our dorm rooms and emptied our trashcans every Saturday morning in Korea. Each floor of the dormitory had its own large, wheeled tilt hopper which adjuma would roll down the long hallway emptying individual trash cans into.
Invariably, ours was always filled-to-overflowing with cheap OB (Oriental Brewery) beer bottles - which made a horrendous racket when dumped in the echos of the hallways - and rousing even the heaviest of drinkers in the early morning.
I hadn't thought about that in a long, long time.
Since I bought the bike I've been riding in the mornings after the kids get on the school bus before work.
I have been reserving my beer-drinking for when the kids are gone for the weekend with their grandmother, or staying at a friends house. A side effect of the children being gone is a much slower trash accumulation rate. Normally, I roll the trash and recycle out once a month, and with the kids being gone or otherwise engaged nearly every weekend in April, the only thing in the recycle bin was beer bottles. I estimate about 72.
So when I was standing outside getting ready to mount up and the robotic arm of the recycle truck upended the contents of said bin into its metal hopper and the unmistakable eruption of morning-after beer bottles came crashing down with a concussion that echoed throughout the neighborhood?
I'll admit to feeling a touch of chagrin right before I laughed aloud at the memory.
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The Human Condition is a fascinating thing. After not drinking for eight months, I drank every single day for four. (As an aside, what a wonderful, wonderful four months it was!) At some point however, after Christmas and before New Year, I stopped drinking again altogether - it simply wasn't working for me - and stopping I believe, is responsible for the seriously weirded out dreams I've been having here lately - uncovering an über-surreal reality. Go me.
Additionally, I ran out of blood pressure medication sometime after my birthday and before Christmas. I was hyper-aware of being out of meds, drinking, and not-exercising (I have some sort of silly correlation which prevents me from working out when I drink daily or something). I also decided the whole ace inhibitor thing was absolutely not working for me - it was damaging my calm - so I asked my doctor to put me back on the beta blocker, citing the above, which he not only agreed with, but also acknowledged by putting me on a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor and suggesting I chew nicotine gum. In his defense, I admitted I was thinking about chewing tobacco again, and while he supported rotating dopamine substitutions as a rule, wasn't entirely keen on smokeless tobacco, so I'm giving that a try. The funny thing about nicotine gum is in the instructions - they're written entirely from a cessation point of view, up to and including quitting the gum; not a word about beginners starting to chew nicotine gum for my specific purposes.
Despite all that craziness above, which should have adversely affected my health, my BP never got above 130/80. He therefore cut my previous prescription by three-quarters. Whatever life-changes I've gone through have apparently been notably stress reducing. Numbers don't lie. I'm basically on a 1/4 maintenance dose until I lose weight.
Were I depressed, the norepinephrine-dopamine-reuptake inhibitor would take weeks for me to notice. As I'm not, I'm expecting results in about a day. Given my history of being fanatically self-aware, I'll be sure to detail all the fascination here xD
Had an absolute blast last night. As soon as I signed off work I readied the "Candy Deployment Area" with a comfy high-tensile folding camping armchair, a footlocker as a table holding a freaking vat of almost 1000 pieces of candy ("mini" versions of the popular candy bars as well as enough Smarties for every kid to huff - its what kids these days are doing with them - crushing, then huffing them), a decorative pumpkin, far too-bright LED rope light across the entire brick-rail of the porch, and a cooler with cans of things like Guinness, Stella, Smithwick, Tecate, Heineken, Modelo and the like. Not that I sat. I stood there grinning from ear-to-ear passing out candy like a retard.
I had the front door open and my spooky mixes playing (by the way, matching the tremolo from The Walking Dead as a segue into Downton Abbey...? Yeah, NOT spooky. That was my bad. I will likely remaster the mix without it and re-upload). I was shocked at how many kids told me I had a nice house after peering inside. I also discovered all the kids, no matter how young or how old appreciated me knowing who/what they were dressed as. They were all genuinely thankful. As dusk fell and night drew on, key neighbors who had been coordinated with ahead of time stopped by to partake from the cooler, including some neighbors who'd moved away recently but returned for Halloween. It was particularly nice since I don't really socialize much, the last time being with these same neighbors on the Fourth.
Lastly, since I'd intended to take a pic of my awesome set-up but failed to, here's the picture I submitted to
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lj_photophile's Halloween post - my kids from Halloween 2011 - which seemed to be the favorite based on comments alone. Click the pic for full-size goodness. There you go, Jules :)
Who among us could ever forget the lesson of Delorean, who at the suggestion of penetrative intercourse over text replied, "Absolutely! Who is this?" Apparently me, who received an obviously mistaken text invitation for a 4th of July bash which stated, "We'll provide the meat just bring a side dish!" to which I replied:
Is beer considered a side dish? If so, I'll be there! BTW, who is this?
Outside of dinner with my Grandfather-in-Law Bill, I didn't seek out plans for the 4th. I surely have plans now. Turns out I was NOT a mistaken recipient - the text was from the mother of one of my daughter's friends - who took my glib reply as an R.S.V.P.
So after a short but acute bought of 300.23 (nods to
quicksilvermad), I decided the best course of action was follow-through, and that beer would equalize the playing field. Beer usually does. Two notable mentions here - I bought a wheeled cooler for Bill's family reunion, and this beerfest is taking place within walking distance of my house. What could go wrong?
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Sometimes there's an elephant in the room no one wants to tackle directly. Labor Day weekend there were six. I grabbed the elephant by the tusks, so to speak, and laid that formality to rest, one at a time. It was during one of our frequent trips to Wichita when I stopped at my favorite world-beer store and asked one of the very knowledgeable staff if they could think of a crisp lager that had an "ZOMG!punch" to it. I wasn't in the mood for a heavy or dark beer at the time, yet I wanted something more powerful than flavorful. He suggested Carlsberg Elephant and within each bottle I found both.
I hadn't seen it since.
Until Labor Day weekend, here at Newton Discount Liquor.
When there's so much to say, but no one to listen, talk to the elephant in the room.
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Watched the Season 4 Supernatural episode "Sex & Violence" about a modern-day Siren last night before going to bed and dreaming I was back in Germany - Wiesbaden to be specific. The location may be because I plan on photographing two Churches my next trip - one of which can be found on the 50 Most Extraordinary Churches of the World (#24) and while perusing the site I ran across another I had previously blogged about (#30 on that list). This also accounts for the activity & the girl. As for Tomas' involvement, I cannot say.
Here we go:
I was visiting
schpydurx who lived in a small apartment in Wiesbaden, West Germany - there were still tensions there and possible hostilities were brewing between the two Germanies - we were told to be cautious. That's when I met her - in the lime green stairwell hallway of the downtown hostel, reminiscent of the old Deutsches barracks. She was a brunette, simply attired in a black summer dress. She reminded me of my first love; the one I'd lost in that same town some twenty years earlier. I was trying to photograph the largest tree still living in downtown - an enormous oak on its own block, a survivor during the Allied bombings of World War II. But she was standing between me and my goal.Tomas was at work - I don't remember actually ever seeing him, though we spoke often throughout the day in planning our evening activities once he got off work. At one point I decided I needed a smaller tripod, and I was rummaging around the top shelf of the closet where Tomas kept his gear, and that's when I saw it: The Nikon D-80! The largest, heaviest, most expensive Nikon on the market. It couldn't even use existing lenses because its lens-mount was twice the diameter of average DSLRs to house its enormous image sensor. He had several very nice, interestingly configurable tripods - some of which I wasn't even familiar with. I grabbed the smallest, hand-sized tripod normally used for photographing close-ups. I was going to use the minuscule tripod to photograph the tree from sidewalk-level, pointing up - to capture its immense beauty - just like the tree that was created from Anna's Grace in the Season 4 Supernatural episode "Heaven & Hell."
The girl was more and more alluring. It felt like I knew her, like I'd always known her. I wanted to be with her, forever. I was very excited for Tomas to get off work so we could all hang out. He was excited too. I wanted to got out and pick up a half-liter 4-pack of canned Koenig Pilsener. Real, unpasteurized German beer. I walked out of the apartment with the girl on my arm. She asked which route I wanted to take and because I remembered the street names and their directions, I told her. It was a beautiful day out, a little gray, but not cold. The dark green wooden kiosk was the only peddler on the corner of the block of the magnificent tree and reminded me of the Vietnam Vet who sets up shop outside the Lincoln Memorial.
The beer was a surprising £13.99! Nearly $26 U.S. I reached into my pockets with fingerless woolen gloves...and awoke. I awoke with the ache of the girl who's name I didn't know, but perhaps more importantly, an unquenchable desire for some great Germany brewski.
Its been far, far too long.
7 Years
4 Continents
10 Countries
122 Bars
Growing up in Texas allowed me to drink beer and wine before the age of 21 if was with a parent. Dining out always afforded me a glass of wine with dinner, and later, beer - a right my wife and I enjoy exercising with our own children. My parents mostly drank red wine, so before I was even a teenager I was familiar with the differences in burgundy, merlot, and lambrusco, but it wasn't until Germany that my eyes were opened to truly magnificent white wines: Spätlese, auslese & kabinett as well as icewein. I was in wine country, situated on the Rhinegau area of Weisbaden where the majority of the wine I drank came from. I was astounded that I could get the best wine I've ever had for DM2,50 (about $5) a bottle. I bought cases at a time. This was the time in my life where I could pick out any one of Verdi or Puccini's operas as well as identify which movement of which Beethoven symphony after only a moment with them. I spent quiet weekends in my dorm room reading the classics, drinking wine, and listening to classical music. An occasional trip to nearby Mainz on the Main River yielded equally as delicious, if not different tasting wine - Rhinehessen & Rheinpfalz. Toward the end of my tour there, I went around collecting varying vintages from different areas along the Rhine and Main and very nearly got to where I could blind-taste select not only different regions, but also different years. Again, magnificent!
Great wine was more difficult to find in my next assignment, Great Britain, and again so back home - I positively abhor most California wine I've had. I cannot afford, at the volume I prefer, some of the better French wines which don't assault my palette, and cannot easily access my favorite domestic wines which, believe it or not, are all Kansan (my favorite winemaker is an American who grew up in Germany and makes a highly coveted local version of spätlese). And excepting the OMGZ!homemade "Cactus Juice" wine I infrequently get the opportunity to purchase, I really don't think I'll ever drink bottled wine again. Goody-Goody sells an array of boxed wine for as low as $9.31 US, Wal-Mart that same box for $8.97...My time in Rhineland a happy memory.
Before thou protest, let me assure you that I understand your argument - I do. I love good beer and won't bat an eye dropping coin on a well-brewed six-pack. I love Crisp pilsners, flavorful ales, strong stouts and light lagers. I actually look down on people who only drink "Bud Light" or "Miller Light." I even know people who argue over taste differences between the two! I understand that there are those who will look down on me for only drinking boxed wine. So be it. When I spend my money, its going to be on really good beer!
Sometimes I think I'm blessed not through grace, but because I'm so freaking awesome. How else could one possibly explain this? I know that Texans are proud, but damn can you blame us? LOOK HOW COOL THIS IS? They say Texas is God's country. This is surely such a sign, because I really don't deserve it, yet here we are, and I've been waiting one-hundred and one years for this moment:
Since my boy was being a butthead, I invited his friends over to spend the night and stay up play video games with me. We had a blast, yes, even my son. Loaded the `Asian Dynasty` expansion for Age of Empires III which was just great, immeasurable fun (my boy and I were disappointed they omitted Korea though), the kids had a double-length pre-testing class for taekwondo belt-testing this coming Saturday. This evening he and I watched The Forbidden Kingdom. 30-seconds into it he quips, "So this is where you got that music." THAAAAAT'S my boy...
And giving credit where credit is due, I used
scottchurch's photo tip (NSFW) which helped me take my beer photo. Thanks!With the funeral behind us, and the dead buried, we picked up the pieces of our lives and with heavy hearts, continued living. My days had been filled with the weight decorum of respect places above and beyond responsibilities in the labor of love I volunteered myself for again and again, but it was the short nights I think, coupled with the gravity of the events which drained me. I didn't sleep as much as pass out in bed each night and the sheer number of days which have passed had taken their toll. It was time to go home.
We packed our vehicle, said our goodbyes, loaded up the kids, and slid the gear selector into "Drive." As I pulled out of the driveway I thought dreamily of my absurdly expensive mattress only six short hours South.
Then the phone rang.
All the results came back - My wife's grandmother has been given only days to live. They've moved her to hospice and put her on morphine - there's nothing to do but but make her as comfortable as possible. Her children and their children are providing around-the-clock coverage. My brother-in-law is driving down from Oregon with his entire family in tow because there were zero flights out. Another cousin had to leave her family at the airport as she found only a single seat out from Florida - at $1000.
I pulled back into the carport and wearily unloaded the bags from the car.
Amidst all this woe, there have been the occasional highlights: Making new friends, mixing drinks for the widow after the wake, and my wife's ex-husband not showing up to the funeral after he confirmed his attendance. All notable events. And were there a tag for my favorite beer store in Wichita I would surely link to it now - many of my favorite beer stories and discoveries happen right here in Kansas, and this visit was no different. I discovered Rauchbier (my photo here), the original German "Smokebeer" which, at the time of my post on Shiner Smokehaus I was unaware of. And it even comes in a weizen. Its as if I were the one who'd died and gone to Deutscheland.
Lastly, bound and determined to balance the time spent in hospitals and funeral homes, I've taken my kids on several outings in which they've been able to run and play. After today's news and subsequent unpacking, and with nothing which required my direct involvement, I loaded up everyone's kids and took them on a six-hour adventure of nature trails, playgrounds, hills, hiking and of course: McDonald's.
I haven't seen my son this happy in weeks.
There was no fighting, bitching, boredom, or attitude. We played loud hip-hop in the car, drove with the windows down (it was the first sunny day in months here), and piloted the vehicle like a Texan in the Midwest (GUILTY!) So while I'm still fucking exhausted nearly to tears and don't know how long I'm going to be here, as long as I can pull off a few days like that every once in a while, I think I'll make it. I think we all will.
ehowton & friendI like good beer. Crisp pilsners, flavorful ales, strong stouts and light lagers. In Germany the beer you order is served in that beer's branded glass, and outside a fest stein, a glass particular to the type of beer ordered. Pilsner comes in a pilsner glass, weizens in a weizen glass, and so on and so forth. Drinking beer in Germany is not just a pastime, its an entire culture.
In England, due to strict regulations, all beer of any variety is mandated to only be served in an "Imperial Pint" that is, a bulged conical glass with the mark of the Queen etched into it certifying that you are being served a full legal pint. And let me tell you - those of you who've never tasted unpasteurized British beer have zero comparison to the bottled stuff they export to the United States.
I get downright giddy when I think of my time overseas, and all the fantastic beer I consumed. Sometimes, cracking open a mini-keg of German beer, I weep. I weep for what's been lost in the pasteurization process. Then I drink. I drink and weep. But eventually the beer cheers me up and I stop weeping.
Now some of you may have heard that us Texans are a rather proud people. And while that's true, we're also usually pretty honest. If something sucks, we'll say so, even if its to our own detriment. Its a matter of pride (see how that works?) For example, I'm not a fan of domestic wines, and of all the domestic wines California wines are the bane of my existence, but I'll be the first to say that Texas wine is worse. We simply do not have the ability to produce good wine. But we do make good beer.
Enter Spoetzl Brewery. I won't repeat anything you can read on Wikipedia, but it was during my Pilsner Urquel days in STL that
drax0r called me, begging me to try Spoetzl's flagship beer, Shiner Bock. As many of you know, I'm not what you'd call an, "early adopter" so I dismissed him until I could no longer. Many kegs of the stuff later, I became an outspoken proponent of the work they were doing in the little brewery in Shiner, Texas. I love their bock, I love their black lager, and I love their 100th anniversary doppelbock. For the United States to have a beer this good, makes me weep less.
Shiner Family Reunion
More recently, my excitable friend
drax0r discovered Shiner Smokehaus. Once again, I didn't have time for his "Ooooh, shiny!" behavior. And much like the time he bought Boondock Saints for me because I wouldn't have otherwise watched it, he also bought me entire cases of Shiner Smokehaus. Sadly, he always ended up drinking them before I had an opportunity to upturn the bottle to my lips.So there I was, gearing up for
unixwolf's visit to Anna when I spied a six-pack of the stuff in the cooler nestled between other flavors of Shiner. A lightbulb went off in my head, and I picked it up. When I got home, I cracked it open. And Just like the scene in Ratatouille when the food critic is instantly transported to his happy childhood at his first bite, so it was with me when that delicious beer entered my mouth, and swirled down my throat. I was in my father's backyard and he was smoking brisket on the smoker, with a side of smoke.You see, Smokehaus is brewed with malt which has been smoked with mesquite. And while it seems unlikely that this would affect the taste of the beer much, I assure you, I was drinking a smoked brisket. It was fanastic. Some of the beers overseas are so filling, they're affectionately called, "liquid bread." I've had those beers - its not an exaggeration. I submit to you, dear reader, that I was drinking "liquid smoked brisket" and God was it fantastic. I've never (and I mean never) tasted anything like it in all my travels of this globe. Belgian monks? Pussies.
When my folks came down, I pulled out my mesquite smoking chips, and soaked them in Shiner Smokehaus beer prior to placing the metal basket on the heat shield of my gas grill. I smoked those burgers a good 20-minutes before applying fire to them. I know that every time I grill burgers, I tell you that they're the best burgers I've ever grilled. But I hope you can now appreciate that when I say these were the best burgers I've ever grilled, you've got a little history and understanding of why these were the best burgers I've ever grilled.
Shiner Smokehaus
[dream]
I was on a business trip in Germany. This in and of itself is not odd, I dream that I'm overseas all the time. But this time, I was with
galinda822 and unixwolf! I started out at a gasthaus eating dinner late into the evening, finishing with drinks at the bar with my business co-workers when we retired to the muddy parking lot. As the group broke up, this one lady mentioned she didn't know how to get back to the highway. I prided myself of remembering exactly which route to take despite the fact I hadn't been there in 17 years. The next morning, I'd run into galinda! What a surprise that was! I met the guy she was living with, a tall, thin European with dark wavy hair who wore only black. We got along at first, but I noticed he kept disrespecting her, so I punched him in the gut and took her with me. Our first stop was for a 5-liter gravity-tap keg of...wine? Sure enough, there was an entire store in a mini-mall with floor to ceiling glass windows so a passersby could watch the inventory process. We walked in and were greeted by a heavyset man wearing an apron and a big bristly mustache. I explained I wanted a red wine (no telling why I wanted a red wine in Germany) that wasn't too sweet, nor was it too dry. He made his suggestion, snapped his fingers and his workers ran down the long, tall rows of kegs to fetch my purchase. He and I discussed the fittings necessary to "tap" the keg and I went into some detail on crafting my own top-mount pull from step-down threaded brass. He pulled out the items I had described, but they were far too expensive for me to purchase. Something like $100. I figured after the purchase of 5-liters of wine, I'd just use his cap-method, which he indicated would make it last longer, providing I wasn't planning to drink it all at once.
Making my way across the parking lot, I ran into unixwolf who was joining us. He was driving
drax0r's truck and took the keg of wine and galinda to the truck before joining me in the beer shop! I bought a mini-keg of Bitburger but then he had to find something in the back of the store. We enter the storeroom and I spy galinda's boyfriend on a pay-phone back there. We make eye contact. Its obvious he'd been throwing up from the stomach-punch, and I felt bad, but I was nervous that he was whispering on the phone. I walk through miles of seems like stacks of plywood on shelves while unixwolf find the exact part he needs, and when the European on the phone leaves, so do I. I catch up with him in the parking lot. He hits me a couple of times, mostly out of fear. I apologize for hurting him and he promises to never introduce me to another one of his girlfriends. We part ways and here comes unixwolf, part in hand. My beer was $100 and I know know catttitude is looking at the checking account in the states wanting to know why the hell I'm spending so much on booze. The parking lot reminds me of Branneky Hardware store on the Rock Road in Saint Louis. unixwolf and galinda drive off together. I get in my Tib. The car is filthy from the muddy parking lot at the gasthaus the night before...
[/dream]
celtmanx...which reminds me of
celtmanx's SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY Saturday night at their business in Granbury, TX! Happy Birthdayceltmanx! His wife threw a completely successful surprise party for him at "Jumping Party," an indoor party palace and jump park. I've been to one other in the area, but not one nearly as bright or colorful or well laid-out as this one. He was taken completely by surprise, and there was quite a turnout. I got to catch up with some old faces and meet some new ones. As it had been raining ALL DAY (that morning we were jarred awake from an attack of hail as large as my thumb) and as their parking lot is as of yet unpaved, my car was 'sliding' more than it was 'driving' as I was entering and leaving. The car is completely COATED in mud. When I stopped to fill up with gas I ran the windshield washer over my headlights and taillights. Anyway, it was great fun, and of course the kids had a blast - what better place to host a birthday party??? 
Because the party was so late, and so far away, (the children and I were gone about 12-hours, which included a nice visit with the folks on the way down) we didn't bother to leave the house at all Sunday. My son was thrilled to discover he was still in his pajamas that evening just prior to bed. My wife hosts a, "Pajama Day" every so often (read, "I'm not leaving the house, I don't care if you dress or not.") I took this day to play Star Wars Legos The Game, with my son. Now - we've been building things with a mixture of Star Wars and Bionicle Legos - even put up a Gallery of Lego Creations to showcase the items we snap together. But yesterday was the first day I've played the game with him. I let him lead each campaign (each movie has several areas in which you can complete tasks - not only is it a highly accurate representation of the movies, it also uses the soundtrack appropriately - lots of fun for kids or adults) and it was soooooooo funny watching him get frustrated with me:
"Stop shooting me, Dad!"
"Dad, You killed me too!"
"You're slowing me down!"
"Come over here and cover me, Dad!"
"Why are you going that way?"
"Don't leave me here!"
"Daaaaaad, COVER ME!"
At the St. Louis zoo this weekend, it was packed. And with people of varying ages and socio-economic backgrounds. Of all the thousands of people there, I was among the few under 40 who didn't have a tattoo. When asked why I don't have a tattoo, I usually explain that that I wanted a way to express my individuality and make me unique. I get odd looks sometimes, because that's why most people do get tattoos. The funny thing is, by doing so, they become the majority, and just like everyone else. Funny how that works.
Picked up Alien Resurrection today.
Grilled perfect salmon for dinner, and had a marvelous Kansan Spatelese with it. I hate questions such as, "If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one [fill in the blank] for the rest of your life, what would it be?" I hate these because I am such a diverse person, and I know whatever I chose I would eventually become disenchanted with over time. Unlike most people however, I have had enough variety in some things, that I know exactly what I would choose in some catagories.
Picked up two cars from the Cartoon Network's Hot Wheels Acceleracers series, both from Team 'Metal Maniacs' the Hollowback and Rivited:
SWEET! Confirmation at 2228 hours that my Bear McCreary autographed soundtrack is ON IT'S WAY!!! Critics have called his last one (Season One) a score, and this one, an album. Apparently its much richer in depth than his last one. My review of the preview tracks can be found here. I await with eager anticipation.
The last four days have been tough. I'm hitting the sack early again tonight.
Picked up Alien Resurrection today.
Grilled perfect salmon for dinner, and had a marvelous Kansan Spatelese with it. I hate questions such as, "If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one [fill in the blank] for the rest of your life, what would it be?" I hate these because I am such a diverse person, and I know whatever I chose I would eventually become disenchanted with over time. Unlike most people however, I have had enough variety in some things, that I know exactly what I would choose in some catagories.
Havana Monticristo Cigar
Plizner Urquell
a Rhienhessen Spatlese
Picked up two cars from the Cartoon Network's Hot Wheels Acceleracers series, both from Team 'Metal Maniacs' the Hollowback and Rivited:
SWEET! Confirmation at 2228 hours that my Bear McCreary autographed soundtrack is ON IT'S WAY!!! Critics have called his last one (Season One) a score, and this one, an album. Apparently its much richer in depth than his last one. My review of the preview tracks can be found here. I await with eager anticipation.
Thank you again for your order from La-la Land Records
The following items have been shipped to:
ehowton
St. Louis MO 63114 US United States
Name Code Qty Each Options
-----------------------------------------------------------
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA LLLCD1049 1 15.98
SEASON 2
(Shipped)
Subtotal 15.98
Shipping 4.00
Tax 0.00
Total 19.98
This completes your order. Thank you for shopping with us.
The last four days have been tough. I'm hitting the sack early again tonight.
All over the meader and the hill!
Took the in-laws to see the Arch this evening. This marked the first time I've been under the arch, where they have a museum of the mid-west which is really well done, and various other displays and shops. And a beautiful carved stone mural which displays the arch prominently amongst other American monuments.
Buds're bustin' outa bushes
Walked through the old part of town, The Landing which hosts a fabulous Blues Festival each year. We attended one the weekend I proposed to my wife when we were here in '97. She wanted to eat dinner at the Brewery, and we found one, Morgan Street Brewery where I, in a surprising move, ordered a Golden Pilsner. It was fantastic. I had the grilled chicken & andouille sausage over penne pasta which was cajun spicy and delicious. It even filled me up - no small feat! I ended my meal with their Graham Cracker Porter, which was to die for. My father-in-law, a very difficult man to impress, was so thrilled with his steak, he thanked the entire waitstaff and the checkout girl. I'd never seen him so pleased. I think that alone made the entire outing worth it.
And the rompin' river pushes
It had stormed most of the day and was calm and cool by the time we hit the streets, a perfect evening to an otherwise hectic day. All this would not have been possible of course without the help ofgalinda822 who watched the children for us so we could enjoy this evening with my wife's folks. Thank you!
Ev'ry little wheel that wheels beside a mill!
As dusk overtook us, the city lit up and we concluded our evening with a walk down the riverside.
Took the in-laws to see the Arch this evening. This marked the first time I've been under the arch, where they have a museum of the mid-west which is really well done, and various other displays and shops. And a beautiful carved stone mural which displays the arch prominently amongst other American monuments.
Buds're bustin' outa bushes
Walked through the old part of town, The Landing which hosts a fabulous Blues Festival each year. We attended one the weekend I proposed to my wife when we were here in '97. She wanted to eat dinner at the Brewery, and we found one, Morgan Street Brewery where I, in a surprising move, ordered a Golden Pilsner. It was fantastic. I had the grilled chicken & andouille sausage over penne pasta which was cajun spicy and delicious. It even filled me up - no small feat! I ended my meal with their Graham Cracker Porter, which was to die for. My father-in-law, a very difficult man to impress, was so thrilled with his steak, he thanked the entire waitstaff and the checkout girl. I'd never seen him so pleased. I think that alone made the entire outing worth it.
And the rompin' river pushes
It had stormed most of the day and was calm and cool by the time we hit the streets, a perfect evening to an otherwise hectic day. All this would not have been possible of course without the help of
galinda822 who watched the children for us so we could enjoy this evening with my wife's folks. Thank you!Ev'ry little wheel that wheels beside a mill!
Laclede's Landing, named for Pierre Laclede, St. Louis' French founder, is a vibrant entertainment district just north of the Gateway Arch along the Mississippi River. Once the hub of river trade where fur trappers rendezvoused, music now echoes off the Landing's cobblestone streets, and restaurants, music clubs and shops fill the former warehouses that once held tobacco, cotton and other products brought to St. Louis by steamboats. On the edge of the Landing, modern casinos recall a time when gambling boats plied the Mississippi.
If there's one place that conjures up images of St. Louis' river past, Laclede's Landing is it. Streets in the nine square block area of the Landing are the same as they were when Laclede laid them out in his original plan.
Here cobblestone thoroughfares harken back to the time when St. Louis was a center of river commerce and conjure images of traders selling their furs, tobacco and cotton arriving on steam boats and paddle wheelers taking on and discharging passengers. In fact, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Landing was a busy area of manufacturing and commerce.
Today the Landing's preserved historic brick and iron façade buildings house some of St. Louis' best restaurants, exciting music clubs, the country's longest running dinner theatre, the unique Dental Health Theatre and the Laclede's Landing Wax Museum. At the foot of the landing is the President Casino, St. Louis' only downtown casino.
As dusk overtook us, the city lit up and we concluded our evening with a walk down the riverside.
Nothing is ever as easy as it sounds...
The changes you see are all a part of a month long work-in-progress. As an old-skool admin, I've been jealously eyeing the console terminal look; at the same time I loved the light/dark split background image effect I created for my most recent look. All I desired was a sidebar. Countless hours of compiling new CSS and I couldn't get the sidebar on that layout, nor could I integrate a secondary image in the context box area of another layout. So, I followed my gut (always lead with the gut) instinct and merged the best I could of what I wanted. I now have my sidebar, an updated background image (which took longer than I would have liked - retaining the look and feel of the old one) and my wyse-terminal appearance. I also prefer reading and posting comments in the exact theme, but again, apparently, you can't have it all. So far, the response has been overwhelmingly negative. Except from old-skool admins like myself. Which is cool with me.
Yesterday I rec'd a call from my V.P. Last time he called me concerning a board member, I had to send of of my guys to an island off the coast of California to tell the gentleman he could not run a current version of IE on his Macintosh (don't ask). Yesterday, I personally had to go to a convent to diplomatically help some Sisters print a pdf. I brought my Windoze guy with me; He hobbed-knobbed with the board member, and I hung out with a rather cool Networking Nun while we talked Firefox. She rocked.
I hate finding button-down Polo shirts on sale at Dillard's for 75% off then discovering all they have left are sizes 'Small' and 'Extra-Small.' Asses.
My wife will have me in a genital-cuff if I don't get my expense report submitted soon.
Then Firefox crashed taking my beautifully cultivated tab-farm with it! Grrrrrr. That's twice now since the new core update for those who are keeping count. Of course, I was hammering this laptop so much yesterday, it had to expand it's 1024MB virtual memory! Stupid laptops. I wish I worked from home on my computer with my DSL connection.
Peace out, bro. I've got beer to drink.
The changes you see are all a part of a month long work-in-progress. As an old-skool admin, I've been jealously eyeing the console terminal look; at the same time I loved the light/dark split background image effect I created for my most recent look. All I desired was a sidebar. Countless hours of compiling new CSS and I couldn't get the sidebar on that layout, nor could I integrate a secondary image in the context box area of another layout. So, I followed my gut (always lead with the gut) instinct and merged the best I could of what I wanted. I now have my sidebar, an updated background image (which took longer than I would have liked - retaining the look and feel of the old one) and my wyse-terminal appearance. I also prefer reading and posting comments in the exact theme, but again, apparently, you can't have it all. So far, the response has been overwhelmingly negative. Except from old-skool admins like myself. Which is cool with me.
Yesterday I rec'd a call from my V.P. Last time he called me concerning a board member, I had to send of of my guys to an island off the coast of California to tell the gentleman he could not run a current version of IE on his Macintosh (don't ask). Yesterday, I personally had to go to a convent to diplomatically help some Sisters print a pdf. I brought my Windoze guy with me; He hobbed-knobbed with the board member, and I hung out with a rather cool Networking Nun while we talked Firefox. She rocked.
I hate finding button-down Polo shirts on sale at Dillard's for 75% off then discovering all they have left are sizes 'Small' and 'Extra-Small.' Asses.
My wife will have me in a genital-cuff if I don't get my expense report submitted soon.
Then Firefox crashed taking my beautifully cultivated tab-farm with it! Grrrrrr. That's twice now since the new core update for those who are keeping count. Of course, I was hammering this laptop so much yesterday, it had to expand it's 1024MB virtual memory! Stupid laptops. I wish I worked from home on my computer with my DSL connection.
Peace out, bro. I've got beer to drink.
heh:
Bought a 5-pack roll +1 (2x3-can special pricing) of Grizzly this morning at QT. Hand him my card, he swipes it and asks, "Credit or debit?" I give him my standard answer, "Your preference." As I've noticed different proprietors prefer using one or the other based upon either certain charges associated with one or the ease of the other. With a line of people behind me, all in a hurry to get to work, he loudly exclaims, "It's your money, man! Your money! You decide!" Nice. Let me see if I can translate my answer here, for you, the common man who works at QT and possibly reads random lj entries: "I DON'T GIVE A RATS ASS HOW YOU DEBIT MY CHECKING ACCOUNT."
Grilled salmon in the rain yesterday when I got home. It was perfect. Friday night is our order-out night, and the day I get to bring home a brand-spanking new case of Pilzner Urquell! I love that beer, you know. To me, there is no more perfect beer on the planet. So cold, so fresh, so damn tasty! But of course that's all the wife will drink as well, which is always a double-edged sword. On one hand, I think she's awesome because of it, and we only ever have one type of beer in the fridge. On the other of course, She's drinking my beer! And Friday night is the one night a week we turn on the television. We've got catching up to do on The Sopranos.
I only post on lj, however, not everyone is as singularly minded as I am, they jump around - post everywhere! Have you ever tried to follow a thread on xanga? Following a conversation is a nightmare. And asdrax0r heh, heh, pointed out all responses are posted on the corresponding person's page? wtf? My point is, in order to effectively post (or sometimes to post at all) an account is required. I regret to admit to the following:
Carla took off work Thursday, Friday & Monday. As she was leaving the office she exclaimed, "SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY!" I was mortified! To her credit, she was unfamilier with the euphemism.
Xanga will be down today from 7 am - 2 pm EST, as we move our servers to a new network facility (we ran out of room in our old one). We're loading a few hundred servers onto a truck, driving them across the Hudson River, and reassembling them in New Jersey. We'll get the site up and running again as soon as we can!
Thanks for your patience,
The Xanga Team
Bought a 5-pack roll +1 (2x3-can special pricing) of Grizzly this morning at QT. Hand him my card, he swipes it and asks, "Credit or debit?" I give him my standard answer, "Your preference." As I've noticed different proprietors prefer using one or the other based upon either certain charges associated with one or the ease of the other. With a line of people behind me, all in a hurry to get to work, he loudly exclaims, "It's your money, man! Your money! You decide!" Nice. Let me see if I can translate my answer here, for you, the common man who works at QT and possibly reads random lj entries: "I DON'T GIVE A RATS ASS HOW YOU DEBIT MY CHECKING ACCOUNT."
Grilled salmon in the rain yesterday when I got home. It was perfect. Friday night is our order-out night, and the day I get to bring home a brand-spanking new case of Pilzner Urquell! I love that beer, you know. To me, there is no more perfect beer on the planet. So cold, so fresh, so damn tasty! But of course that's all the wife will drink as well, which is always a double-edged sword. On one hand, I think she's awesome because of it, and we only ever have one type of beer in the fridge. On the other of course, She's drinking my beer! And Friday night is the one night a week we turn on the television. We've got catching up to do on The Sopranos.
I only post on lj, however, not everyone is as singularly minded as I am, they jump around - post everywhere! Have you ever tried to follow a thread on xanga? Following a conversation is a nightmare. And as
drax0r heh, heh, pointed out all responses are posted on the corresponding person's page? wtf? My point is, in order to effectively post (or sometimes to post at all) an account is required. I regret to admit to the following:Carla took off work Thursday, Friday & Monday. As she was leaving the office she exclaimed, "SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY!" I was mortified! To her credit, she was unfamilier with the euphemism.
Compiled most of the day on the mac.
Wished I was on my Solaris box.
It's not accessible yet.
It will be once I get my router in place.
Maybe a slackware box would be more fun?
MAYBE I'LL PUT MY SLACKWARE BOX BEHIND M0N0WALL.
Asses.
This would be easier if I were smarter.
I had a spring in my step and a song on my lips yesterday.
Today it was backwards. I stepped on my song and sprung my lips.
I don't know why.
Perhaps...just perhaps, I should drink some Pilzner Urquell tonight.
Yup, that's exactly what I'm going to do.
I only made it through 5 full James Bond albums today.
At five daily, it will take me another three days to listen to them all.
The office is off Friday for Good Friday. I call that a GREAT Friday.
slackware has 136 seeds on torrent. That rocks.
Wished I was on my Solaris box.
It's not accessible yet.
It will be once I get my router in place.
Maybe a slackware box would be more fun?
MAYBE I'LL PUT MY SLACKWARE BOX BEHIND M0N0WALL.
Asses.
This would be easier if I were smarter.
I had a spring in my step and a song on my lips yesterday.
Today it was backwards. I stepped on my song and sprung my lips.
I don't know why.
Perhaps...just perhaps, I should drink some Pilzner Urquell tonight.
Yup, that's exactly what I'm going to do.
I only made it through 5 full James Bond albums today.
At five daily, it will take me another three days to listen to them all.
The office is off Friday for Good Friday. I call that a GREAT Friday.
slackware has 136 seeds on torrent. That rocks.
I left for Texas Wednesday after work. Sometime Thursday night, while I was in Wichita, a picture of me, drinking a beer showed up on the color printer at work. The gang arrived Friday morning, wondered who was printing pictures of me, and threw it away.
Apparently, sometime between the time it was printed and thrown away, the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for our client, saw the picture, and reported it up the chain. Today, I rec'd my official caution from my boss. Nice.
Speaking of the client overreacting, Tony once responded to the client's secure "Challenge Security Question & Answer" as, "What is the most retarded security implementation on this planet?" as his question, with the answer, "This client's security question and answer challenge." When they found this text during an audit some years later, they tried to have him fired on the spot.
According to my staff, the picture was probably 4+ years old (based on the glasses I was wearing at the time) and I was holding a longneck non-domestic beer above my head, as a salute. I scoured the harddrive, and found no such pictures meeting that description (not that I deny they probably exist somewhere, just not on the harddrive).
Stranger still, the girl who quit Monday, had asked if she could take them home with her! Just what the hell is going on here?
DSL is supposed to be active today. 5 IP's, 6.0Mbps down, 608kbps up.
To search mp3's on unsecured servers, use this little trick:
intitle:index.of "mp3" +"SEARCH_STRING_HERE" -htm -html -php -asp "Last Modified"
2700 sq/ft of household goods does not fit into an 800 sq/ft house.
The U-Haul was brand new with only 18k miles on it. Even fully loaded it would roll at 75mph and I was overwhelmed at how often I had to weave in and out of traffic in a 34-foot truck! Needless to say, it was an easy, quick trip!
Apparently, sometime between the time it was printed and thrown away, the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for our client, saw the picture, and reported it up the chain. Today, I rec'd my official caution from my boss. Nice.
Speaking of the client overreacting, Tony once responded to the client's secure "Challenge Security Question & Answer" as, "What is the most retarded security implementation on this planet?" as his question, with the answer, "This client's security question and answer challenge." When they found this text during an audit some years later, they tried to have him fired on the spot.
According to my staff, the picture was probably 4+ years old (based on the glasses I was wearing at the time) and I was holding a longneck non-domestic beer above my head, as a salute. I scoured the harddrive, and found no such pictures meeting that description (not that I deny they probably exist somewhere, just not on the harddrive).
Stranger still, the girl who quit Monday, had asked if she could take them home with her! Just what the hell is going on here?
DSL is supposed to be active today. 5 IP's, 6.0Mbps down, 608kbps up.
To search mp3's on unsecured servers, use this little trick:
intitle:index.of "mp3" +"SEARCH_STRING_HERE" -htm -html -php -asp "Last Modified"
2700 sq/ft of household goods does not fit into an 800 sq/ft house.
The U-Haul was brand new with only 18k miles on it. Even fully loaded it would roll at 75mph and I was overwhelmed at how often I had to weave in and out of traffic in a 34-foot truck! Needless to say, it was an easy, quick trip!
More Random Notes:
Tuesday 060328
Lots of kitty loving. Speedbump's all grown up now, so big and lovey, he's such a sweetheart. Mleko is enjoying the highlight of her twilight...a private bed near the washing machine. And Q. Such a big boy. The most handsome cat I know - and using his gigantic brain power to communicate telepathically - what a smart boy he is!
Here's the plaque David gave me:
I'm going to put it up in my office in St. Louis!
I set up two laptop's with room audio, projector video, and wireless slide advancer. I had four to deploy in 15 minutes but managed to check the important ones: Room One had a gazillion slides, Room Two other had an audio clip of a scream embedded. I double-checked everything and took off to omplete the last two, as 15 minutes is not a lot of time in which to accomplish these tasks. After the presentations, I got two calls. One, from Room One, who's slides advanced at an alarming rate, to the point they had to abandon the slide show, and one from Room Two, who heard a scream in the middle of a speaker's presentation - one hour before the real presentation! The hotel's A/V staff had set the two wireless mice to the same operating frequency...
Robertson hits up my web site the day I'm driving to Wichita - he just read I was coming to town and working at the Worthington Renaissance. We met today at the same snooty Mediterranean restaurant for lunch with HIGGS! and Robertson's next door neighbor, who happens to run Food Services for the Worthington - and who's son is sitting at my old desk at my old client site...right next to Robertson!
Fscking dipshit hotel in Decatur has no internet access. Just for giggles though, I turn the wireless on. Guess who DOES have access? The Best Western across the parking lot! Woo-hoo!
Had a nice surprise at work today - a Van Cliburn finalist was practicing for his concert tonight on the hotel's baby grand for six hours or so, right outside our meeting area.
Stopped at the liquor store on the way home this evening, but they were out of Pilzner Urquell! The proprietor suggested an Italian Pilsner, Peroni - which turns out is actually a lager, not a pilsner. A very good lager, but a poor substitute for P.U.
Xingu is a Brazilian Black Beer, classified as a Sweet Stout and is very good. At $4 a bottle, however, rather pricy for a daily drinker.
The Dusseldorf Altbier was, in a word, fantastic. I may start drinking Altbiers instead of other pilsners (provided I can find them) if they run out of Pilzner Urquell again.
The A/V guy at the hotel reminded me a lot of Tony. Looks like Tony, acts like Tony...and dressed like Tony would dress if he had to work at the hotel. Black slacks, black combat boots, black shirt and black tie.
I only work half a day tomorrow, but with a 0630 start time, and being an hour away, I'm sure it will feel like another full-day. Still, anything's better than another 14-hour day. Will probably see David after work and load up some container I left over there, then David and Tony are joining me Thursday for the loading of the U-Haul.
Tuesday 060328
Lots of kitty loving. Speedbump's all grown up now, so big and lovey, he's such a sweetheart. Mleko is enjoying the highlight of her twilight...a private bed near the washing machine. And Q. Such a big boy. The most handsome cat I know - and using his gigantic brain power to communicate telepathically - what a smart boy he is!
Here's the plaque David gave me:
I'm going to put it up in my office in St. Louis!
I set up two laptop's with room audio, projector video, and wireless slide advancer. I had four to deploy in 15 minutes but managed to check the important ones: Room One had a gazillion slides, Room Two other had an audio clip of a scream embedded. I double-checked everything and took off to omplete the last two, as 15 minutes is not a lot of time in which to accomplish these tasks. After the presentations, I got two calls. One, from Room One, who's slides advanced at an alarming rate, to the point they had to abandon the slide show, and one from Room Two, who heard a scream in the middle of a speaker's presentation - one hour before the real presentation! The hotel's A/V staff had set the two wireless mice to the same operating frequency...
Robertson hits up my web site the day I'm driving to Wichita - he just read I was coming to town and working at the Worthington Renaissance. We met today at the same snooty Mediterranean restaurant for lunch with HIGGS! and Robertson's next door neighbor, who happens to run Food Services for the Worthington - and who's son is sitting at my old desk at my old client site...right next to Robertson!
Fscking dipshit hotel in Decatur has no internet access. Just for giggles though, I turn the wireless on. Guess who DOES have access? The Best Western across the parking lot! Woo-hoo!
Had a nice surprise at work today - a Van Cliburn finalist was practicing for his concert tonight on the hotel's baby grand for six hours or so, right outside our meeting area.
Stopped at the liquor store on the way home this evening, but they were out of Pilzner Urquell! The proprietor suggested an Italian Pilsner, Peroni - which turns out is actually a lager, not a pilsner. A very good lager, but a poor substitute for P.U.
Xingu is a Brazilian Black Beer, classified as a Sweet Stout and is very good. At $4 a bottle, however, rather pricy for a daily drinker.
The Dusseldorf Altbier was, in a word, fantastic. I may start drinking Altbiers instead of other pilsners (provided I can find them) if they run out of Pilzner Urquell again.
The A/V guy at the hotel reminded me a lot of Tony. Looks like Tony, acts like Tony...and dressed like Tony would dress if he had to work at the hotel. Black slacks, black combat boots, black shirt and black tie.
I only work half a day tomorrow, but with a 0630 start time, and being an hour away, I'm sure it will feel like another full-day. Still, anything's better than another 14-hour day. Will probably see David after work and load up some container I left over there, then David and Tony are joining me Thursday for the loading of the U-Haul.
Random Notes:
Wednesday 060322
Snowed on the way to Wichita. My son asks, "What's that white stuff?"
Thursday 060323
Dreamed of BSG Season Three last night. Funny enough, it took place in Boyd?
Bought the Firefly series on DVD. And Serenity. I can't wait. First on the list for Carla, Lori and I when we return! Hooray Carla!
Try to remember how to set up a modem in Win98. Yeah, I know. Replaced my mother-in-law's 15" burned out monitor with my 17" Sun CRT. The IE Browser was too old to support windowsupdate.com, so I had to download IE 6 SP1 (10MB) over a 24k connection. Fun. An hour and a half for that, and two hours to download updates. Wanted to eat a bullet.
Went to my new favorite cigar store in Wichita, and, because I didn't have the kids, I finally perused the liquor store attached to it. I HAVE NEVER BEEN ANYWHERE THAT HAD THE QUALITY AND VARIETY OF BEERS I FOUND HERE. Couple that with the fact that I met the most knowledgeable beer lover I have ever met behind the counter, and well, that was a recipe for success.
The Czechs invented the pilsner. It's the best in the world and I praise them for it. Thier Klaster Premium Winter Lager however is...well, they should stick to the pilsner. Understand, it's 29 bazillion times better than Bud, for example. But not quite the full-bodied sensation Pilzner Urquell is. I bought it because it was on sale for $3.99 a six-pack. Unheard of.
I've had the Franziskaner before, both overseas and here in the states. Mostly their hefe-weizen. I felt comfortable in asking if they carried a krystal weizen (which they haven't carried in nearly two years) but was suggested this 'Club Weisse' as their best second. It isn't, but it's an honorable attempt.
Friday 060324
It was so nice seeing mom and dad again after seven months. I didn't want to let either of them go. The children were very excited, and begged to stay the night with Grammie and PapaDaddy - which was a good thing, because that was exactly the plan!
As we finally left my folks, we thought we'd drive by our old house. It was too dark to really see it by then, so we stopped by to see our old neighbors (neighbor #1)...who don't live there anymore! But our other neighbor's, (neighbor #2) who had moved two years ago, moved back! Into neighbor #1's house! My naming convention is confusing, because everyone is named 'Dave.'
Speaking of Dave's, David & Wendy, Tony, and my wife and I had dinner and drinks at David's Friday night. It was a fantastic reunion with plenty of hugs to go around. Then the drinking ensued. I provided a 6-pack (minus the one I drank!) of the Klaster Premium Winter Lager, David had a 12-pack of Michelob Ultra, and Tony showed up with a 12-pack of Coke because he'd left a bottle of Maker's previously. I was also eying David's brand-spanking new fifth of Crown Reserve ;) David gave Tony and I goodie bags filled with phone-geek accessories, and received from him, a beautiful plaque of Darth Vader and Darth Maul signed by the actors which portrayed them. The three of us spent the evening after the womenfolk went to bed playing Elite Force II, picking up where we left off seven months ago. Wendy gave me stern warnings to have David in bed before 0400. I believe he was in bed at 0358...I know I was! And David, yes we did kill your 12-pack if you consider the single beer I had from it. Dude, you drank the rest yourself!
Saturday 060325
Shopping with the wife all day Saturday - bought some ties, and this hat:
Expect nothing less.
Sunday 060326
Took the wife with me to my meeting Sunday evening for a dinner and a walk-through in preparation for the next day's meeting start. Wife was thrilled the ladies chose a snooty Mediterranean restaurant. They had a Chilean Sea Bass, but I turned it down because the Sea Bass weren't ill-tempered.
Monday 060327
It's 0715 and I'm at a conference table in the hotel with 9 women. I'm the only male. This has been my existence since I started with this new job. I've been the only man at Tupperware parties, but that was to be expected. Last week, all the women in the front office of my son's school were looking past me, as I was the only father which showed up for his parent-teacher conference.
A rather large bat was flying around in circles trapped in the rather cavernous ballroom. You don't see that everyday.
Here's SomeBritInMass just prior to his operation. He taped the note to his gut, under his surgical gown as a surprise for the doctors. It reads, "Docs, Just so we understand, it's my prostrate, not me balls! Ok?" When he awoke, the following message was beside him, "Sorry Mate, but we were laughing so hard we nicked your willy. Doesn't look like it will matter much though! Cheers!"
Sitting dead center over Houston Street in Fort Worth looking over North Side. It's a nice view, the hotel spans two city blocks. This is the largest hotel I've ever been in. I feel like I've walked 14 miles today. Well, I did walk to the Flying Saucer where I got a draught pint of Pilzner Urquell for the Monday-night price of $2.50. Can't beat that! Staying with David & Wendy tonight, as he's 5 minutes away, I'm exhausted, and I have to be back here early in the morning.
Okay, I gotta go again...
Wednesday 060322
Snowed on the way to Wichita. My son asks, "What's that white stuff?"
Thursday 060323
Dreamed of BSG Season Three last night. Funny enough, it took place in Boyd?
Bought the Firefly series on DVD. And Serenity. I can't wait. First on the list for Carla, Lori and I when we return! Hooray Carla!
Try to remember how to set up a modem in Win98. Yeah, I know. Replaced my mother-in-law's 15" burned out monitor with my 17" Sun CRT. The IE Browser was too old to support windowsupdate.com, so I had to download IE 6 SP1 (10MB) over a 24k connection. Fun. An hour and a half for that, and two hours to download updates. Wanted to eat a bullet.
Went to my new favorite cigar store in Wichita, and, because I didn't have the kids, I finally perused the liquor store attached to it. I HAVE NEVER BEEN ANYWHERE THAT HAD THE QUALITY AND VARIETY OF BEERS I FOUND HERE. Couple that with the fact that I met the most knowledgeable beer lover I have ever met behind the counter, and well, that was a recipe for success.
The Czechs invented the pilsner. It's the best in the world and I praise them for it. Thier Klaster Premium Winter Lager however is...well, they should stick to the pilsner. Understand, it's 29 bazillion times better than Bud, for example. But not quite the full-bodied sensation Pilzner Urquell is. I bought it because it was on sale for $3.99 a six-pack. Unheard of.
I've had the Franziskaner before, both overseas and here in the states. Mostly their hefe-weizen. I felt comfortable in asking if they carried a krystal weizen (which they haven't carried in nearly two years) but was suggested this 'Club Weisse' as their best second. It isn't, but it's an honorable attempt.
Friday 060324
It was so nice seeing mom and dad again after seven months. I didn't want to let either of them go. The children were very excited, and begged to stay the night with Grammie and PapaDaddy - which was a good thing, because that was exactly the plan!
As we finally left my folks, we thought we'd drive by our old house. It was too dark to really see it by then, so we stopped by to see our old neighbors (neighbor #1)...who don't live there anymore! But our other neighbor's, (neighbor #2) who had moved two years ago, moved back! Into neighbor #1's house! My naming convention is confusing, because everyone is named 'Dave.'
Speaking of Dave's, David & Wendy, Tony, and my wife and I had dinner and drinks at David's Friday night. It was a fantastic reunion with plenty of hugs to go around. Then the drinking ensued. I provided a 6-pack (minus the one I drank!) of the Klaster Premium Winter Lager, David had a 12-pack of Michelob Ultra, and Tony showed up with a 12-pack of Coke because he'd left a bottle of Maker's previously. I was also eying David's brand-spanking new fifth of Crown Reserve ;) David gave Tony and I goodie bags filled with phone-geek accessories, and received from him, a beautiful plaque of Darth Vader and Darth Maul signed by the actors which portrayed them. The three of us spent the evening after the womenfolk went to bed playing Elite Force II, picking up where we left off seven months ago. Wendy gave me stern warnings to have David in bed before 0400. I believe he was in bed at 0358...I know I was! And David, yes we did kill your 12-pack if you consider the single beer I had from it. Dude, you drank the rest yourself!
Saturday 060325
Shopping with the wife all day Saturday - bought some ties, and this hat:
Expect nothing less.
Sunday 060326
Took the wife with me to my meeting Sunday evening for a dinner and a walk-through in preparation for the next day's meeting start. Wife was thrilled the ladies chose a snooty Mediterranean restaurant. They had a Chilean Sea Bass, but I turned it down because the Sea Bass weren't ill-tempered.
Monday 060327
It's 0715 and I'm at a conference table in the hotel with 9 women. I'm the only male. This has been my existence since I started with this new job. I've been the only man at Tupperware parties, but that was to be expected. Last week, all the women in the front office of my son's school were looking past me, as I was the only father which showed up for his parent-teacher conference.
A rather large bat was flying around in circles trapped in the rather cavernous ballroom. You don't see that everyday.
Here's SomeBritInMass just prior to his operation. He taped the note to his gut, under his surgical gown as a surprise for the doctors. It reads, "Docs, Just so we understand, it's my prostrate, not me balls! Ok?" When he awoke, the following message was beside him, "Sorry Mate, but we were laughing so hard we nicked your willy. Doesn't look like it will matter much though! Cheers!"
Sitting dead center over Houston Street in Fort Worth looking over North Side. It's a nice view, the hotel spans two city blocks. This is the largest hotel I've ever been in. I feel like I've walked 14 miles today. Well, I did walk to the Flying Saucer where I got a draught pint of Pilzner Urquell for the Monday-night price of $2.50. Can't beat that! Staying with David & Wendy tonight, as he's 5 minutes away, I'm exhausted, and I have to be back here early in the morning.
Okay, I gotta go again...
◾ Tags:
- beer,
- bsg,
- kansas,
- somebritinmass,
- wife
Things have changed. They always do. The individual who was supporting an offsite meeting couldn't make it. It was dropped back in my lap. I have no one I can send. We're at 50% staff with me going on vacation this week. My boss, always keen to an opportunity, makes me an offer I cannot refuse to support the meeting in Fort Worth while I'm there on vacation.
New timeline:
060322: Depart for Wichita.
060323: Setup Win98 box for Mother-in-Law.
060324: Depart for Texas/Kids at folks/Overnight at Dave & Wendy's.
060325: Check into hotel/Spend day at folks/Troubleshoot WinXP box.
060326: Lounge around/Pick up rental car/Working dinner at the Renaissance.
060327: Provide IT Support at the Renaissance.
060328: Provide IT Support at the Renaissance.
060329: 1/2 Day IT Support at the Renaissance.
060330: Pick up U-Haul and begin loading of household goods.
060331: Depart for Wichita.
060401: Depart for STL.
060402: Unload.
060403: Unload/Attempt to create order from chaos.
060404: Return U-Haul/Attempt to create order from chaos.
060405: Return to work???
Another meme snatched fromvember:
( Read more... )
Introduced Galinda to Shiner Bock last night. Give'er a little taste of Texas!
Installed a mil-spec hardened Xbox in my shed for when Tony turns into a zombie.
Having lunch, then departing. Take care.
No, I did not wake up with the head of a horse between my sheets this morning.
Yes, it was chicken-fried steak (St. Louis-style) for lunch.
Oh, and the new girl who's been here two weeks? She turned in her two-week notice.
New timeline:
060322: Depart for Wichita.
060323: Setup Win98 box for Mother-in-Law.
060324: Depart for Texas/Kids at folks/Overnight at Dave & Wendy's.
060325: Check into hotel/Spend day at folks/Troubleshoot WinXP box.
060326: Lounge around/Pick up rental car/Working dinner at the Renaissance.
060327: Provide IT Support at the Renaissance.
060328: Provide IT Support at the Renaissance.
060329: 1/2 Day IT Support at the Renaissance.
060330: Pick up U-Haul and begin loading of household goods.
060331: Depart for Wichita.
060401: Depart for STL.
060402: Unload.
060403: Unload/Attempt to create order from chaos.
060404: Return U-Haul/Attempt to create order from chaos.
060405: Return to work???
Another meme snatched from
vember:( Read more... )
Introduced Galinda to Shiner Bock last night. Give'er a little taste of Texas!
Installed a mil-spec hardened Xbox in my shed for when Tony turns into a zombie.
Having lunch, then departing. Take care.
No, I did not wake up with the head of a horse between my sheets this morning.
Yes, it was chicken-fried steak (St. Louis-style) for lunch.
Oh, and the new girl who's been here two weeks? She turned in her two-week notice.
Do you think that I'd talk to a dog? Do you think I'd ask a dog whether you're good or evil?
An Equinox followed me in to work today. It wasn't you.
Plzeňský Prazdroj is a brewery in Pilsen, Czech Republic, birthplace of the Pilsener Lager. Plzeňský Prazdroj can be roughly translated into English as "The Fountain of Plzeň" or more precisely "Ye Olde Pilsner Springs." To you and me, that means 'drink Pilsner Urquell if your looking for a fantastic beer.' I drank Pilsner Urquell just a couple of times in Germany. When I came stateside, I recalled it being somewhat bitter, so avoided it for the always readily available Warsteiner. This past weekend, I was at my 4th stop looking for a 5-litre gravity-fed mini-keg of Warsteiner when the wife rang. She was getting impatient. Fine. I looked over my choices and chose Pislner Urquell. I haven't had any since 1991. IT WAS FANTASTIC! My my my, I sure love good beer. They invented the Pilsner. What's not to like?
It's Christmas-time in Hollis, Queens. Mom's cookin' chicken and collar'd greens.
Here's Wendy competing at the World Poker Tour last year. Hooray Wendy!
Now that I'm off travel-status and my Missouri State taxes have kicked in, I've noticed a couple of things. First, State taxes (which I have never before paid) exceed the amount of the raise I received to come to St. Louis, which means I'm actually bringing home less than I was in Texas, prior to my raise. The good news, is that during the relocation, I manged to lower my house payment by half. The bad news is that state taxes make up the other half of that house payment.
Have you ever felt like you're not in control of your life?
I'm wearing a pink tie today. My daughter has wanted me to find a pink princess tie. In that endeavor, I was unsuccessful. Funny enough, I still have a bright-pink paisley tie I haven't worn since the 80's. Wore it in today. Yeah, I'm getting funny loooks. But probably only as many as if I were wearing the 'Spongebob Nerdypants' tie I wore last month for my boy.
I pulled into Jack-In-The-Box for a salad yesterday and saw an old, busted-assed dark blue Ford Ranger and had a pang of longing. Half a second later, I realized it was Texas I was missing. Dave Robertson and I would take turns driving to Jack-In-The-Box and we often took his old, busted-assed dark blue Ford Ranger. Hi Dave! Hi Karyn!
Another day, another conference call.
What are you talking about? Look at yourself. You're nothing. You're nobody. You're wanted in connection with a violent crime. You're cleaning the floor of a diner. She is an intelligent, passionate, beautiful, rich woman. The issue of whether or not she's your type is not one that you're likely to have to resolve in this world... or, indeed, the next, since she will be going to some heaven for glamorous p***y, and you will be cleaning the floor of a diner in hell.
An Equinox followed me in to work today. It wasn't you.
Plzeňský Prazdroj is a brewery in Pilsen, Czech Republic, birthplace of the Pilsener Lager. Plzeňský Prazdroj can be roughly translated into English as "The Fountain of Plzeň" or more precisely "Ye Olde Pilsner Springs." To you and me, that means 'drink Pilsner Urquell if your looking for a fantastic beer.' I drank Pilsner Urquell just a couple of times in Germany. When I came stateside, I recalled it being somewhat bitter, so avoided it for the always readily available Warsteiner. This past weekend, I was at my 4th stop looking for a 5-litre gravity-fed mini-keg of Warsteiner when the wife rang. She was getting impatient. Fine. I looked over my choices and chose Pislner Urquell. I haven't had any since 1991. IT WAS FANTASTIC! My my my, I sure love good beer. They invented the Pilsner. What's not to like?
It's Christmas-time in Hollis, Queens. Mom's cookin' chicken and collar'd greens.
Here's Wendy competing at the World Poker Tour last year. Hooray Wendy!
Now that I'm off travel-status and my Missouri State taxes have kicked in, I've noticed a couple of things. First, State taxes (which I have never before paid) exceed the amount of the raise I received to come to St. Louis, which means I'm actually bringing home less than I was in Texas, prior to my raise. The good news, is that during the relocation, I manged to lower my house payment by half. The bad news is that state taxes make up the other half of that house payment.
Have you ever felt like you're not in control of your life?
I'm wearing a pink tie today. My daughter has wanted me to find a pink princess tie. In that endeavor, I was unsuccessful. Funny enough, I still have a bright-pink paisley tie I haven't worn since the 80's. Wore it in today. Yeah, I'm getting funny loooks. But probably only as many as if I were wearing the 'Spongebob Nerdypants' tie I wore last month for my boy.
I pulled into Jack-In-The-Box for a salad yesterday and saw an old, busted-assed dark blue Ford Ranger and had a pang of longing. Half a second later, I realized it was Texas I was missing. Dave Robertson and I would take turns driving to Jack-In-The-Box and we often took his old, busted-assed dark blue Ford Ranger. Hi Dave! Hi Karyn!
Another day, another conference call.
What are you talking about? Look at yourself. You're nothing. You're nobody. You're wanted in connection with a violent crime. You're cleaning the floor of a diner. She is an intelligent, passionate, beautiful, rich woman. The issue of whether or not she's your type is not one that you're likely to have to resolve in this world... or, indeed, the next, since she will be going to some heaven for glamorous p***y, and you will be cleaning the floor of a diner in hell.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 18, 2005: Worked late. After-hours move. Ate the best roast beef sammach on the market (Lion's Choice). Wife pulled in right behind me at the hotel that evening. Drank wine.
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2005: Carla navigated the family to the St. Louis Mills mall (Da Mills!) which ended in beer. Fantastic! Read a large portion of Wicked while drinking wine.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 20, 1005: The wife single-handedly transformed our small, 300 sq/ft (and that's being generous) hotel room into effcient living quarters for 4 in about eight hours. Unbelievable. Drank wine.
MONDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2005: drp in town. Had a dream that his wife and I were at my desk at work, conspiring about something at work, and he walked in - I was terrified. She joined him during his visit and sat across from me. I was on edge all day. So I drank some wine.
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2005: Dreamed astro and I were walking around his 270 wooded acres making repairs to the house and outbuildings, driving an aging maroon Cadillac approximately 72 feet long. Later, he took off and Tony and I were hosting a busload of Army recruits on the property...until Lori's grandfather noticed that the ranks were wrong, and the lieutenant was not acting up to his responsibilities. It was an invasion force! Perhaps it was the wine?
Having a FANTASTIC week!
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2005: Carla navigated the family to the St. Louis Mills mall (Da Mills!) which ended in beer. Fantastic! Read a large portion of Wicked while drinking wine.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 20, 1005: The wife single-handedly transformed our small, 300 sq/ft (and that's being generous) hotel room into effcient living quarters for 4 in about eight hours. Unbelievable. Drank wine.
MONDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2005: drp in town. Had a dream that his wife and I were at my desk at work, conspiring about something at work, and he walked in - I was terrified. She joined him during his visit and sat across from me. I was on edge all day. So I drank some wine.
TUESDAY NOVEMBER 22, 2005: Dreamed astro and I were walking around his 270 wooded acres making repairs to the house and outbuildings, driving an aging maroon Cadillac approximately 72 feet long. Later, he took off and Tony and I were hosting a busload of Army recruits on the property...until Lori's grandfather noticed that the ranks were wrong, and the lieutenant was not acting up to his responsibilities. It was an invasion force! Perhaps it was the wine?
Having a FANTASTIC week!
Our Daily Service Review has been at 1000 hours every morning. I'm like, "ON" at 1000. I have two words to say everyday on this conference call. "Zero/Green." I usually say it with such gusto and enthusiasm, I've been unofficially (and unknowingly truth be told) the DSR mascot. Now, that's not unusual for me, I used to compose my oration for the DSR in the car on the drive into work in Texas, sometimes even giving my report in the form of a haiku. Early last week, one of the participants suggested moving the DSR to 0900. "In the morning?" was my response. Which, IMHO, provided in crystal clarity my opinion of the move. A week later, "...since there were no objections..."
"Excuse me! I objected."
"Yes, but you were the only one, Eric."
*sigh*
Needless to say, we started our 0900 DSR's. To date, I've made one. When it came time today to speak my two words, I was asked to repeat them. Twice. Finally, I was asked, "Is this Eric?"
"Yes sir."
"Is this ERIC?"
*clear throat* "Yes sir!"
"Well Eric, we just haven't heard from you in awhile, and you don't sound yourself. Don't like these 0900 calls do you?"
Everyone laughed and jeered at my expense. It was funny later, when I woke up after my coffee.
Completed my first 60+ hour work week here this week. That, coupled with the every-other-day nighttime activities I find myself inexplicably drawn into makes for quite a week. Today was probably the most difficult in waking, after only 3.9 hours of sleep. At one point, I was dreaming that I was awake. At another, I was awake, day-dreaming that I was asleep. Reality can be confusing. Somehow, I actually made it into the office, and onto the DSR. Life is funny. Integrating my family into our 300 sq/ft hotel room will be difficult at best. Setting aside my recent nocturnal adventures will also take some adjusting. Getting home at a resonable hour and getting real sleep, however, will be bliss. Perhaps normalcy will slowly return, as my dreamlike state this last week begins to fade and becomes only a memory. I'll have to resist the urge to fight it.
From the Official Publication of Dogbert's New Ruling Class:
"The biggest surprise to me was in the Weaseliest Behavior category where gas gouging lost out to advocating the teaching of Intelligent Design in schools. Apparently most people would rather be robbed than exposed to unproven ideas. This could be a valuable tool for muggers who don't like guns. "Give me your wallet or else I'll explain the concept of irreducible complexity!"
Carla is going to once again perform her telephony dance this evenings at the other office, while myself and another co-worker engange in the desktop-move ballet. All told, probably three addtional hours after work, in which I must do laundry, the dishes, unload the car, and clean the room in the few hours remaining between the time I leave work, and the time my wife arrive this evening. Good bye, Pint-O-Guinness, it was fun knowing you.
This is Eric, signing off.
"Excuse me! I objected."
"Yes, but you were the only one, Eric."
*sigh*
Needless to say, we started our 0900 DSR's. To date, I've made one. When it came time today to speak my two words, I was asked to repeat them. Twice. Finally, I was asked, "Is this Eric?"
"Yes sir."
"Is this ERIC?"
*clear throat* "Yes sir!"
"Well Eric, we just haven't heard from you in awhile, and you don't sound yourself. Don't like these 0900 calls do you?"
Everyone laughed and jeered at my expense. It was funny later, when I woke up after my coffee.
Completed my first 60+ hour work week here this week. That, coupled with the every-other-day nighttime activities I find myself inexplicably drawn into makes for quite a week. Today was probably the most difficult in waking, after only 3.9 hours of sleep. At one point, I was dreaming that I was awake. At another, I was awake, day-dreaming that I was asleep. Reality can be confusing. Somehow, I actually made it into the office, and onto the DSR. Life is funny. Integrating my family into our 300 sq/ft hotel room will be difficult at best. Setting aside my recent nocturnal adventures will also take some adjusting. Getting home at a resonable hour and getting real sleep, however, will be bliss. Perhaps normalcy will slowly return, as my dreamlike state this last week begins to fade and becomes only a memory. I'll have to resist the urge to fight it.
From the Official Publication of Dogbert's New Ruling Class:
"The biggest surprise to me was in the Weaseliest Behavior category where gas gouging lost out to advocating the teaching of Intelligent Design in schools. Apparently most people would rather be robbed than exposed to unproven ideas. This could be a valuable tool for muggers who don't like guns. "Give me your wallet or else I'll explain the concept of irreducible complexity!"
Carla is going to once again perform her telephony dance this evenings at the other office, while myself and another co-worker engange in the desktop-move ballet. All told, probably three addtional hours after work, in which I must do laundry, the dishes, unload the car, and clean the room in the few hours remaining between the time I leave work, and the time my wife arrive this evening. Good bye, Pint-O-Guinness, it was fun knowing you.
This is Eric, signing off.
In 1990 I wss living in Germany and for about $10 you could buy a 5-litre gravity-tap mini-keg of German bier. That was the most fantastic thing I'd ever seen. In 1993 I was deployed to MacDill Air Force Base, Flordia for three months, and what to my great surprise did I find on base? 5-litre gravity-tap mini-kegs of German bier. It was $25 but hey - this is really worth living for. I got the Warsteiner; my favorite. I drank it that day. Fast forward 12 years, and here I sit in St. Louis, Missouri, and what do I find in the grocery store for $12? You got it. I picked up the Warsteiner. I love German bier. I'm sure I'll sleep really good tonight.
I have over 4000 songs in my iTunes database, but have only really listened to a small percentage of them (yes, it can track that for you). So tonight, I'm going to start listening to my entire collection. Now, that doesn't mean that I haven't heard them before. In fact, I started with my most well-heard genre, the operas I imported the other night. Let's talk about opera a minute. You people whine and whine that CD's are too expensive. Have you ever priced opera? A good quality full recording is rare to find under $50. But there's oh so much more to consider. Let's say you decide on a piece you want to purchase. You have to consider the label, the conductor, the orchestra, the soprano, and the tenor. And yes, all five can and do very elusively intermix, so you have to put it together like a puzzle. For example. My favorite conductor is Herbert Von Karajan. He has conducted many, many orchestra's but is best known as principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic (in which he was appointed to in 1955 and retained until his death in 1989) which as it turns out pretty much by proxy, I prefer the Berlin Philharmonic - but I'll sometimes purchase them over Karajan with a different orchestra depending on which label it's on (see what I mean about complicated?), unless I'm looking for a specific soprano of course...you get the point anyway. My favorite two labels are Deutsche Grammaphon (who, coincidently records most of the Berlin Philharmonic) and Telarc. Why labels you ask? Their quality. I didn't learn this until 1990, in Germany. SSgt Randy Smith saw my Laserlight collection of Beethoven's Nine Symphony's and just shook his head. They were $3.99 each. He loaned me his $100 Beethoven set (which I later purchased in the UK) and threw my Laserlight collection in the trash!
Listen, I got to tell you. I'm in heaven. I haven't had this amount of beer, this good, in such a long time. I'm going to try to drink it all tonight. AND it's the weekend. I am so tired of not sleeping (admittedly I'm doing better in a queen bed in a cold room than I was in a military cot in an un-airconditioned data center) and I'm so glad I didn't have to press my clothes tonight for the day tomorrow or set my alarm for an hour and a half early so I'd be bright-eyed when speaking to the executives. I'm going to turn off Lotus Notes, turn off my phone, double-check that the A/C is on high, and drop into bed tonight, hopefully catching up on some sleep. I really feel bad for my wife, who was vommited upon at 0445 this morning by my youngest and hasn't slept through the night since I left. "Why are you not coming home this weekend again?" She asked. She is a wonderful, longsuffering woman and I respect her deeply.
[time passes...]
David Eatherly called and we chatted a good long time. I'm now using iTunes to make me a sleepytime mix of mostly New Age music to snooze by. I'm qwfully drunk and this is quite nice. Time for nite-nite...
I adore you all, my readership.
I have over 4000 songs in my iTunes database, but have only really listened to a small percentage of them (yes, it can track that for you). So tonight, I'm going to start listening to my entire collection. Now, that doesn't mean that I haven't heard them before. In fact, I started with my most well-heard genre, the operas I imported the other night. Let's talk about opera a minute. You people whine and whine that CD's are too expensive. Have you ever priced opera? A good quality full recording is rare to find under $50. But there's oh so much more to consider. Let's say you decide on a piece you want to purchase. You have to consider the label, the conductor, the orchestra, the soprano, and the tenor. And yes, all five can and do very elusively intermix, so you have to put it together like a puzzle. For example. My favorite conductor is Herbert Von Karajan. He has conducted many, many orchestra's but is best known as principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic (in which he was appointed to in 1955 and retained until his death in 1989) which as it turns out pretty much by proxy, I prefer the Berlin Philharmonic - but I'll sometimes purchase them over Karajan with a different orchestra depending on which label it's on (see what I mean about complicated?), unless I'm looking for a specific soprano of course...you get the point anyway. My favorite two labels are Deutsche Grammaphon (who, coincidently records most of the Berlin Philharmonic) and Telarc. Why labels you ask? Their quality. I didn't learn this until 1990, in Germany. SSgt Randy Smith saw my Laserlight collection of Beethoven's Nine Symphony's and just shook his head. They were $3.99 each. He loaned me his $100 Beethoven set (which I later purchased in the UK) and threw my Laserlight collection in the trash!
Listen, I got to tell you. I'm in heaven. I haven't had this amount of beer, this good, in such a long time. I'm going to try to drink it all tonight. AND it's the weekend. I am so tired of not sleeping (admittedly I'm doing better in a queen bed in a cold room than I was in a military cot in an un-airconditioned data center) and I'm so glad I didn't have to press my clothes tonight for the day tomorrow or set my alarm for an hour and a half early so I'd be bright-eyed when speaking to the executives. I'm going to turn off Lotus Notes, turn off my phone, double-check that the A/C is on high, and drop into bed tonight, hopefully catching up on some sleep. I really feel bad for my wife, who was vommited upon at 0445 this morning by my youngest and hasn't slept through the night since I left. "Why are you not coming home this weekend again?" She asked. She is a wonderful, longsuffering woman and I respect her deeply.
[time passes...]
David Eatherly called and we chatted a good long time. I'm now using iTunes to make me a sleepytime mix of mostly New Age music to snooze by. I'm qwfully drunk and this is quite nice. Time for nite-nite...
I adore you all, my readership.
